Genre: Folk
CEILÍ MOSS is an acoustic folk-rock band from Belgium. We have often been described by the press or by fans as acoustic Pogues. “Crazier than Perry Rose, not as orthodox as Shantalla, more eccentric than MacRahl”, a concert review once said. Another frequently heard comparison is Ambrozijn. We like to define ourselves as... [+] Read More
Genre: Celtic
Decades Active: 60s, 70s, 90s
Singer/songwriter Cyril Tawney was the iron man of the British folk revival, touring clubs and festivals for close to half a century -- a stretch unrivaled by any of his contemporaries. Tawney was born into a naval family in Gosport, Hampshire, on October 12, 1930, following tradition by enlisting himself at the age of 16. In all, he spent a... [+] Read More
Genre: Celtic
Decades Active: 60s, 70s, 80s
Whether singing a cappella or with minimal accompaniment, Frankie Armstrong uses her powerful soprano vocals to breathe new life into centuries-old British balladry. Best known for her rendition of Peggy Seeger's feminist anthem, "I'm Gonna Be an Engineer," Armstrong has been an influential presence in England since 1962.
A longtime...
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Genre: Folk
Decades Active: 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s
With his deep, resonating voice and melodic six- and twelve-string guitar fingerpicking, Gordon Bok has been the leading purveyor of the music of the sea for more than thirty years. Although he prefers to spend his time in his workshop in Maine, working on wood sculptures, his albums and rare performances have been eagerly awaited by his many... [+] Read More
Genre: Celtic
Decades Active: 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s
A mainstay of British folk music since the '50s best-known for his collections of sea shanties and whaling songs, Louis Killen is a singer, archivist, lecturer, and historian on the level of Ewan MacColl, Pete Seeger, and A.L. Lloyd, all of whom Killen worked with at one time or another.
Born in the northern village of...
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Genre: Folk
Decades Active: 60s, 70s
Born in the Calton district in Glasgow, Matt McGinn lived with his parents and eight siblings in cramped quarters. Although yearning to go to Protestant school with his friends in his formative years, his parents raised McGinn Catholic. At the age of 12, after being caught breaking into a store, McGinn was sent to St. Mary's Approved School for... [+] Read More
Genre: Folk
Decades Active: 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s
Since the mid-'60s, Norma Waterson, along with brother Mike, sister Lal and others, have performed together as the Watersons to make some of the most beautiful records in British traditional music. While performing one evening with her family at McCabe's in Santa Monica, California, club booker and producer John Chelew inquired if Waterson had... [+] Read More
Genre: Celtic
Decades Active: 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s
Bellamy was one of the English folk revival's greatest voices. He was born in Norfolk in 1944. In the early days of 1965 he moved to London, where he met up with Royston Wood and Heather Wood, and the three got a regular gig at a club whose name they would eventually adopt -- The Young Tradition. In flamboyant costumes, with witty presentation,... [+] Read More
Genre: Folk
Decades Active: 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s
Sam Larner was the living embodiment of the folk tradition. A herring fisherman from the age of twelve, he built an extremely huge repertoire of folk songs and sea chantys that he sang while asea. Larner's reputation as a folk singer spread until his tale was taken up by folksingers Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger and Charles Parker who used him as... [+] Read More
Genre: Folk
Decades Active: 60s, 70s
The Watersons were one of England's premier singing families. Their early albums played an influential role in the revival of British folk music in the 1960s. British folklorist A.L. Lloyd recalled the group's "hand-crafted harmonies, an immediately recognizable and uniquely distinctive group sound which is uninhibited, spontaneous seeming, and... [+] Read More